Welcome to the “Extended Nows” website (Aziz Alizadeh’s personal website).
I thank God for giving me the opportunity to share, albeit a little, what I have learned in the fields of future studies, cognitive sciences, and the sciences of complexity and Chaos. My acquaintance with these fields started about 20 years ago, when I went to UMIST University in Manchester, England to continue my studies in the field of materials engineering and metallurgy. I had a professor named Paul O’Brien who taught us about nanotechnology. Among the main texts of the lesson, he introduced a book entitled “Engines of Creation” written by Eric Drexler. This book discusses the future of nanotechnology in depth. The interesting thing about this book for me was that someone in 1986 talked about the state of a technology a few decades later. Anyway, after reading the above book and another book by the same author, entitled “Unbounding the Future”, I entered the world of futurists. By becoming a member of the World Future Society and reading the Journal of “The Futurist” and other texts, I became acquainted with the principles and techniques of future study. I became very interested in scenario writing and read several times the book I borrowed from the John Rylands Library at the University of Manchester, The Art of Long View. It was very exciting for me that a company as big as Shell uses Scenario Writing/Scenario Planning and storytelling about the future for its strategic planning. I became familiar with the many names of Herman Kahn (Founder of Scenario Planning Technique at the Rand Corporation and the Hudson Institute), Pierre Wack (Creator of Scenario Planning in the Business and Shell Company), Peter Schwartz, author of The Art of Long View, and other leading and influential futurists. Anyway, a big door to an endless world was open in front of me, and I gradually lost interest in the world of engineering. Every day I became acquainted with a multitude of new concepts by reading numerous reports and articles written in the field of futures studies, especially Scenario Planning. Concepts such as; Mental models, cognitive biases, organizational learning, social constructivism, uncertainty, fractals, sensemaking, order in disorder, edge of chaos, self-organization, trends, drivers of change, etc, They were expanding my mental world. Over time, I came to realize that in order to better understand the past, present, and ultimately the future; I must master advanced and precise theories in describing phenomena. Mastering theories (a set of concepts and the connections between them) leads to more comprehensive and better perspectives, which is very important in the exploratory journey to the future. Along the way, I became acquainted with the cognitive sciences, the sciences of complexity and chaos, and the fundamental philosophies of these sciences. I realized the fact that in order to use futuristic methods correctly and accurately, I had to choose the right ontology and epistemology, so that I could have the right view and approach to the phenomenon. In general, I must admit, stepping into the world of future study and other new and related sciences has given me a new thread of thought to rediscover the world in which I live. In the “Extended Nows” website, I try to share my experiences in the exploratory journey to the universe in the context of time with those who are interested in these fields. I hope I can pass on what I have learned to the new generation and those who are interested, so that they can go through this path more quickly and accurately and take the knowledge gained one step further. And finally, from the overflow of this knowledge, the public and national interests of our dear Iran will be secured.